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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Park and Recreation Master Plan

monsoon

By monsoon
in Charlotte

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Charlotteman Burg

Charlotteman

Posted
Posted

When a wax museum was mentioned earlier, I think it was mentioned as something fun to connect to an aquarium. I don't think anyone intended for a wax museum to be the end all, to bring people Uptown-lol

Of course everyone would prefer Charlotte attractions to be home-grown, indigenous affairs. Well the NASCAR complex sure lives up to that criteria.

An aquarium wouldn't be unique, nor a wax museum, nor a giant ferris wheel (which was mentioned a while back), nor a Seattle-esque observation tower. (In fact the only unique attraction I can think of in Seattle is the "Underground Tour" which is tons of fun, but is also quite kitschy.)

The City of San Francisco must be one of the biggest tourist draws in the country, and they get away with a goofy wax museum!

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Neo City

Neo

Posted
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Today an announcement was made regarding the proposal of a 250 acre zoo in the Charlotte area. I'm assuming that they wouldn't be locating this in Mecklenburg county but would be locating it in one of the surrounding counties. The size of this zoo would be right at half the size of the existing NC zoo in Asheboro.

I'm not sure it is needed since there are two established zoos within a short driving distance (Asheboro and Columbia), but perhaps there is a need that I just don't 'get.'

There is a map of the proposed zoo available and I am attaching it to this post. The website for the plan is here: http://www.charlottezoologicalpark.com but it lacks information.

CZP_MP.pdf

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redconv185 Crossroads

redconv185

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I agree we should get something unique especially since there are two zoos near Charlotte anyway. I wish they would use the $300 million to complete existing projects or to build a tourist attraction uptown instead of a "Charlotte Zoo" that will probably not even be in the city.

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nonillogical Burg

nonillogical

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^ i agree that i'd rather have an aquarium in town, but i think the reality is it would always sort of play second fiddle to the Georgia Aquarium in ATL (still the world's largest, right?) in most people's minds. i don't think it could ever become a regional draw for that reason, everyone would still choose to go to ATL instead.

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atlrvr Metropolitan Area

atlrvr

Posted
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^ Exactly, which is why need neither a zoo or aquarium. Both would be out-shined by other facilities within an easy drive of Charlotte. Neither would would draw a large number of people to Charlotte. If was to serve the local population, I'd rather see something like the Children's Zoo in NYC's Central Park.

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HopHead City

HopHead

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^ i agree that i'd rather have an aquarium in town, but i think the reality is it would always sort of play second fiddle to the Georgia Aquarium in ATL (still the world's largest, right?) in most people's minds. i don't think it could ever become a regional draw for that reason, everyone would still choose to go to ATL instead.

Agreed that we'd play second fiddle to the GA Aquarium. I think taking atlrvr's idea of being more creative, but apply that to the aquarium. I'm not sure what that would be specifically. However, I'm sure there's ways to make it unique in comparison. It doesn't have to be the "world's largest"... If you have unique exhibits, it will stand out on it's own.

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49er Hamlet

49er

Posted
Posted

The riverbanks zoo isn't really that great. The zoo portion of the facility needs a major overhaul. It's the botanical gardens and the natural areas along the river that really impress me. I've always liked the combination of the two though. It is a great bang for your buck and there's even a little civil war history at the site.

My other thought is, why 250 acres? We already have a nature preserve type zoo in Asheboro. The national zoo in DC is only 163 acres and it works just fine. Most people with children in this area take their kids to the Lazy 5 which is a mini zoo in the making.

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Spartan Gigalopolis

Spartan

Posted
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The Riverbanks Zoo draws in more tourists than any other zoo in the South, so that is some stiff competition within a very easy drive of Charlotte. To that end, like atlrvr said, Charlotte doesn't need to copy what's already out there. Though perhaps they will release more details about this thing to let people know how it will stand out.

Um, isn't this site in the path of the Gaston "Garden Parkway" turnpike?

http://www.ncturnpike.org/pdf/DSA_Gaston%2...ated%201-08.pdf

Lol, a minor technicality. I think it will be a miracle if that road ever happens. Of all of the road projects in the Charlotte metro area, this is the least justifiable one.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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Um, isn't this site in the path of the Gaston "Garden Parkway" turnpike?

http://www.ncturnpike.org/pdf/DSA_Gaston%2...ated%201-08.pdf

Southslider, you are correct. I overlaid this proposal on top of the Garden Parkway protected right of way, and it is EXACT! This project is dead on arrival.

I am going to change back the title of this thread to be more generic. I thought the Parks Dept had settled on this for their master plan. But apparently it is just a small group with access to Photoshop and Godaddy.

post-670-1255098233_thumb.jpg

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cltbwimob Burg

cltbwimob

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Southslider, you are correct. I overlaid this proposal on top of the Garden Parkway protected right of way, and it is EXACT! This project is dead on arrival.

I am going to change back the title of this thread to be more generic. I thought the Parks Dept had settled on this for their master plan. But apparently it is just a small group with access to Photoshop and Godaddy.

I don't think the preject is DOA. The zoo is nothing more than an idea right now and the site chosen could be subject to change. The conceptual master plan is dated Aug 1. 2008, before the Garden Parkway ROW was chosen. I am sure if this guy is serious about this, he will move the planned zoo to a different location.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

Posted
Posted

Well the idea of a zoo is not DOA, but it is certainly not as far along as was implied by the website. I think it is still an open question what the Parks department will do and certainly what a private group will do. But the only news this week is that a group made a website and a rendering using land that is already spoken for.

It is just like Crazyman Reese making a rendering showing dense development and an MLB stadium in 2nd Ward. It is just one step above meaningless because there are no means to do it and no control of the land.

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Charlotteman Burg

Charlotteman

Posted
Posted

Not sure if this is the correct thread to bring this up: has the redevelopment of the Marshall Park area been scrapped? From my years on UP I know most of ya'll hate the park (and the ducks that are the only visitors to it.)

At one time it seemed like some thinking was underway to develop the area. That was before the recession.

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